1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to power driver conveyors and conveying systems having plural power-driven conveying stations with means connecting sections for quick assembly and disassembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conveyors are desired to be of specific lengths adapted to the job situation so that the unloading function will deliver goods to the exact area where needed. In many applications the desired end point of the conveyor may vary from time to time, and although both portable and bendable conveyors are known, these are not practical in situations where the end point is moving frequently toward or away from the starting point of the conveyor, requiring frequent changes in the total length of the conveyor. Thus, it has been desired to have conveyors capable of changing length between one fixed end and one variable end or between two variable ends. Further, it has been desired to accomplish this with a minimum of expense. Thus, the assembly of a plurality of short self-contained conveyor sections into a tandem assembly of the desired length would provide the desired flexibility in locating the conveyor ends, but the drive motors for each section would add undue economic penalty to such an arrangement. It is therefore of advantage if only one drive motor is needed for a plurality of associated driven conveyor sections.
Belt conveyors are often driven by application of power to one or more rollers upon which the belt rests. One known method for powering an articulated belt conveyor is by powering one roller that drives a first belt and in turn has a sprocketed end that drives a roller chain. The chain may follow the conveyor path and transmit the motor power to a further sprocketed roller that drives an articulated segment of the conveyor. While such a segment may include a separate belt, the requirement that the roller chain engage the second sprocket prevents the segment from being easily added or removed. A further technique for transmitting power to a remote conveyor belt section is by frictional engagement between the first or drive belt and the second or driven belt. The difficulty in this type of drive is that consistent friction is difficult to maintain between two belt surfaces, as the contact surfaces tend to wear and ride on each other. It has been further proposed to interconnect two conveyor belt sections riding on independent rollers by linking a roller of one belt to transmit rotation to a roller of the second belt, such as by a removeable coupling engaging a particular shape of socket in the rollers. The present invention relates to an improved coupling for joining together and transmitting power between adjacent conveyor sections.